


Sweater-paws and Paw-prints

by DiamondWings



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternative title: lots of fluff and an attempt at smut, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kittens, M/M, Reminiscing, Smut (clickbait), Turning Point in Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:41:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondWings/pseuds/DiamondWings
Summary: Taekwoon comes home late for his and Hakyeon's anniverary date. He had a good reason for the delay, though: two little kittens in a wet cardboard box. What ensues, after calming a worried sick Hakyeon, is a wealth of domestic fluff and cuddles, with and without the kittens.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Jung Taekwoon | Leo
Kudos: 43





	Sweater-paws and Paw-prints

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gold_sakura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gold_sakura/gifts).



> This story is for my birby, [gold_sakura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gold_sakura/pseuds/gold_sakura), who wanted cuddly neo with kittens. So that's what this is,cuddly neo with kittens!

Hakyeon looked at the clock for the probably hundredth time in the past hour, annoyance over Taekwoon being late, today of all days, slowly being replaced by worry.

It was their ten year anniversary, and they had been making sure for a long time that they would both have at least the evening off to spend together. Five on the dot at the latest, Taekwoon had said, he would be home. It was nearing six, and still no sign of Taekwoon; his stupid phone went straight to voice-mail every single time, too!

At first, Hakyeon had decided to let it slide; the underground was always crowded when it rained, and Taekwoon might have gotten held up by the crowds, missed the connecting train, or something like that, and would arrive at any moment now. Time passed, and Taekwoon didn’t come. Hakyeon became annoyed, wondering if Taekwoon had let his boss stretch the last meeting with him late again, or gotten distracted by his work again; both were plausible scenarios and happened way too often. Still, he doubted Taekwoon would let himself be held back or get distracted for that long, and that’s when worry started to settle in. 

What if something had happened to Taekwoon on the way home? What if he’d slipped and fallen and gotten hurt on a set of wet stairs? He was clumsy like that… Or what if he’d twisted his ankle on the tricky cobblestone road up the hill? What if a car hadn’t been able to brake in time while Taekwoon crossed the road and hit him? What if- What if-?!

Slowly but surely, Hakyeon’s overactive mind managed to come up with scenario after scenario, each one more horrifying than the one before, of what could have happened to Taekwoon to cause the delay – or cause him to possibly never come home again.

He was about ready to call the police and report a person as missing, right after calling every single hospital in the city, the rail-service-providers, every neighborhood-watch he could find between their home and Taekwoon’s work place, as well as every business lining the streets Taekwoon usually took on his way home to see if anyone had seen him, when he heard the beeping of the electronic lock at the front door.

Rushing over like a whirlwind, Hakyeon’s worry melted away and gave way to relief when he saw Taekwoon stepping through the door unharmed, if a little wet.

“Woonie!” He exclaimed, near tears, running to throw himself into Taekwoon’s arms, just to have Taekwoon give him a startled look and turn away, reaching out with one arm to block his approach and keep him at a distance.

“Yeon, wait, stop!”

Hakyeon froze.

“What- Why? Are you hurt? Woon, is everything alright?!” Panic was back in an instant, but Taekwoon shook his head.

“No, no, I’m fine, I’m ok; don’t worry!”

Hakyeon gave him a confused look, watching as Taekwoon carefully toed off his shoes, all the while keeping one arm cradled around his stomach. He kept it there as he started peeling off his jacket, too, and Hakyeon could quickly tell that Taekwoon was soaked through to the bone.

“Why are you all wet? Didn’t you bring an umbrella?”

Taekwoon nodded sheepishly. “Forgot it at work, though. It wasn’t raining when I left there…”

It wasn’t raining-…? It had been raining for the past two hours! Non-stop! 

“When did you leave work?!” Hakyeon couldn’t help the question, growing suspicious. 

Taekwoon didn’t notice anything in his tone, though, clearly distracted as he shook out his soaked jacket and hung it up to dry; all with one hand, the other still cradling his stomach.

“Uh, around four? Before four, actually.”

Hakyeon’s eyes widened.

“You mean to tell me you took two and a half hours to get home? Taek, your work is like twenty minutes away! Twenty-five if you drag your feet!”

Taekwoon grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, I know… Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so late, really; I even left early, after all! But… You know, things happened…”

Hakyeon narrowed his eyes. “What things?”

Taekwoon shifted nervously, his second arm coming around his stomach, too.

“Well, you see… Uh, I was on the way home, and you know that alley by the bakery? The one that sells those really nice sweet-potato buns? Actually, we haven’t had those in a while, I should have picked some up-”

“Taekwoon…!” Hakyeon interrupted him in a warning tone before he could veer too far off topic, and Taekwoon jumped slightly.

“Ah, yes, sorry! Anyway, the alley by that bakery. I was just passing it, when I got distracted by the display in the window of that bakery – they had some really interesting bread-creations there, different kinds of bread-dough braided together in a wreath, with leaves and berries and even a bow made out of bread, it was really impressive – Anyway!” Taekwoon pulled himself together and back on topic when Hakyeon’s eyes narrowed in a glare. “I was standing there and debating whether I should ask if they made bread like that to sell if you ordered it, when I heard a noise coming out of that alley. Now, I’m not stupid, I don’t follow every noise I hear in any dark alley, but listen, Yeon! I just knew it was nothing dangerous, but it sounded so… I don’t know, pitiful? So I went to investigate, and I found this box there, and it was all soaked through and gross, and inside… I’m so sorry, Yeonie, but I couldn’t leave them there…”

Hakyeon’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously, even though he had a pretty good idea where this was going. At least in general. “What couldn’t you leave there?”

Taekwoon shifted nervously, and Hakyeon could see his hoodie shifting, too; but not in the way it should if Taekwoon just shifted on his feet.

“I- They are so young still, Yeon, and I don’t think they would have made it out there. They were already soaked from earlier in the day and still trapped in that box, and they would have either frozen or starved to death there, and I just couldn’t- I really couldn’t leave them there, Hakyeonie, love, you have to understand!”

Hakyeon sighed, rubbing at his temple.

“Ok, Taek, I got that part. But who couldn’t you leave there?”

Taekwoon swallowed thickly, giving Hakyeon a nervous look, before he slowly reached up to start unzipping his hoodie. Hakyeon watched with a neutral expression since he was already anticipating what was about to happen, but even he was still taken aback when a little black and white head with two pointy ears that looked entirely too big for it poked out from where the fabric parted; and even more so when another head, this one striped black and grey, with a white chin and neck, poked out after the first.

“Kittens?”

Taekwoon nodded, giving Hakyeon his best puppy-look-eyes. “Yeah… I was so worried about them, I immediately took them for a check-up to that clinic just down the road from the bakery. They are all ok, the vet said they are old enough to be weaned, if they aren’t already, so they won’t even be a lot of work. They are still very young, though, so they won’t make it out there on their own, especially in this weather, and they were already quite weak from the cold when I found them, so we warmed them up and had them eat and drink at the clinic. The vet said they look completely healthy, and I kept them warm and dry on the way here, so they should be ok-”

“Taekwoon…” Hakyeon interrupted him when he felt like Taekwoon was starting to ramble just for rambling’s sake, and Taekwoon broke off with a thick swallow. Hakyeon sighed, keeping his stern expression, though.

“Those kittens might be ok now, but you are not. You are soaked! Go, go take a hot shower and change into some dry clothes before you catch another cold! You only just got rid of that nasty cough last week, I don’t want to deal with you being miserable again so soon!”

“B-but-” Taekwoon started, but was interrupted by Hakyeon again as he stepped up close to him and slipped his hands into the front of his hoodie, picking up the kittens. “Hakyeon!”

“You go warm up. I’ll take good care of these two in the meantime. Shoo, hurry, you’re late enough as it is!” 

Taekwoon gaped at Hakyeon, incredulous expression quickly morphing into a pout. Hakyeon sighed, catching the expression out of the corner of his eye and turning back to place a gentle kiss on his lips. 

“The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be done and can join us again. We’ll be in the living room.”

Taekwoon could only watch as Hakyeon carried the two kittens away and to the living room, leaving him behind in the hallway. A small smile tugged on his lips; Hakyeon wasn’t nearly as mad at him for being late on their anniversary as he had feared and as Hakyeon himself was trying to make him believe. He still would have to make up for it somehow, to ease his own guilt first and foremost, but he hoped the two little ones could help him with that.

He meant to hurry in the shower, but it was only when the hot water was cascading down his body that he realized how cold he’d been in the first place, and he might have taken longer than he meant to under the hot spray before he joined Hakyeon in the living room. When he did, Hakyeon didn’t even notice him at first, and Taekwoon did nothing to announce his arrival, instead choosing to watch Hakyeon with the kittens for the time being.

“Hey, you little rascal, that’s not a toy! Give that back! And you, stop chewing the cushions! For being such poor little helpless creatures, you sure are some active little monsters…!” Hakyeon scolded as he chased after first one, then the other kitten, trying to keep them from playing with things they shouldn’t. 

Of course, as soon as Hakyeon took one chosen toy away from a kitten, they went after something else; something that was also not designed to be a kitten toy, and that would lead to Hakyeon chasing after them again. It was quite entertaining to watch, and Taekwoon stood quietly as he did so, unnoticed by Hakyeon even though he wasn’t exactly hiding where he stood leaning against the doorframe. Still, it was only when the black and white kitten ran straight at him, darting behind his legs to hide from Hakyeon, that Hakyeon noticed him standing there.

“Why are you just standing there! Take that string away from her, what if she swallows it!” 

Taekwoon bent down with a chuckle, lifting the kitten with the string in her mouth up and gently pried it out from between her teeth while cooing at her. With the string gone, the kitten soon found a new toy to play with in the strings of Taekwoon’s hoodie. Taekwoon let her, facing Hakyeon instead.

“Should I take over kitten-herding? You look tired.”

Hakyeon huffed, glaring lightly at Taekwoon. “Half of my tiredness is still from worrying myself sick over you being so damn late. Why was your phone off the whole time?”

Taekwoon sighed, feeling guilty. “Sorry about that. I didn’t notice that my charger was broken and didn’t charge my phone at all until I left work with two percent battery left. I didn’t think anything of it, because I was aiming to be home way before you even expected me back…”

Hakyeon couldn’t really be mad at Taekwoon for that, either. He found it even harder to be mad when Taekwoon closed the distance between them and pulled him into a hug, releasing the kitten onto the couch as he did so. 

“I’m sorry I worried you. I never meant to. I’ll be more careful to keep my phone charged in the future.” Taekwoon murmured in Hakyeon’s ear, brushing a soft kiss against the shell of it. “And I’m sorry for getting distracted like this on our anniversary, of all times. I’ll make it up to you, if you tell me how.” He nuzzled into the hair behind his ear.

Hakyeon huffed lightly, but his arms came around Taekwoon, reciprocating the hug, so Taekwoon knew he wasn’t actually all that mad. 

“Since you’ve taken so long to come back… You can make up for it by cooking dinner for us.”

Taekwoon chuckled lightly, swaying gently with Hakyeon in his arms. Hakyeon was a sucker for Taekwoon’s home-cooked meals, though he rarely got to enjoy one of those with how much both worked and how rarely they had time to eat together in the first place, never mind Taekwoon having time to actually cook for them.

“And what is it you would like for me to cook for us, dearest?”

Hakyeon thought about it for a moment, gradually melting into Taekwoon’s embrace as he swayed them gently.

“Hmm, I don’t know… Nothing too elaborate, I don’t want you holed up in the kitchen for too long. Something simple but yummy.”

Taekwoon nodded slowly. “Some kind of pasta, then?”

Taekwoon couldn’t see Hakyeon’s face, but he could tell it lit up from the way his entire posture changed.

“Yes!” He exclaimed, pushing out of Taekwoon’s hold. “You go do that, I’ll make sure these little monsters you brought in don’t destroy the whole house in the meantime.”

Taekwoon laughed, slowly letting go of Hakyeon to let him get back to the kittens. As soon as Hakyeon turned around, spotting the little balls of fur again, he immediately rushed over to them, scolding them again.

“Hey, that’s a pen, not a chew toy! And why would you stick your head in there? You’ll hurt yourself! No, don’t go there; here, kitty-kitty! Don’t go under there, you’ll get stuck. Hey, leave that! Pens are still not chew-toys!”

An amused smile stuck to Taekwoon’s face as he went to their kitchen to start cooking, and it didn’t dim the whole time he was busy, Hakyeon’s constant nagging reaching his ears from the room over. 

It might have seemed weird to an outsider how Taekwoon could find amusement in his partner’s annoyance, but it was the way Hakyeon scolded the kittens that did it for him. He was so gentle in his scolding, the kittens would never have been able to tell he was annoyed from his tone; worry for their safety bled into his voice first and foremost, before any real anger or disappointment over damaged objects. Everything in Hakyeon’s constant rambling reflected his caring nature, the vast amounts of love he had to give, his innate gift to lead and guide and advise. Taekwoon could listen to him for hours, days… years even, without ever getting bored or tired of it. And lately, he hadn’t gotten the chance to hear Hakyeon anywhere near often enough for his tastes; rambling, nagging or otherwise. 

Therefore, being able to hear Hakyeon’s voice in the background brought a smile to his lips that stayed in place all throughout his cooking, while nothing but warmth and love for the other filled his entire being. 

He was almost done when Hakyeon suddenly came running into the kitchen.

“No, get out of here, this is dangerous! What if something hot spills on you, you silly kitten?! Taek, catch her!”

Taekwoon turned in time to see the cat running towards him, and bent down to pick her up and coo at her.

“Hey, you little whirlwind. Listen to your dad; you can’t run around just everywhere.” He pressed a soft kiss to her head before handing the black and white ball of fur back to Hakyeon and kissing him, too. “That goes for you, too. You’re just as much of a disaster in the kitchen.”

Hakyeon gaped at him indignantly. “Excuse me?!”

“You’re excused.” Taekwoon replied cheekily, taking Hakyeon by the hips and lightly maneuvering him out of the way to reach the cupboard with their plates. “Now, I’m as good as done here. Where should we eat? Do you think there is a point in setting the table, or should we just plate the food and take it with us to eat on the couch?”

Hakyeon took a moment to compose himself at Taekwoon’s abrupt change of topic, clearing his throat. “I- Couch. We have to watch the kittens, and I wouldn’t be able to sit still at the table for a whole minute if I can’t see what they are up to.”

Taekwoon nodded in agreement and understanding. He hadn’t expected anything else. “Go take the little whirlwind back and check on her brother. I’ll bring the food out in a minute.”

Hakyeon nodded slowly, doing as Taekwoon suggested, while Taekwoon looked after him fondly. Hakyeon really was too adorable in the oversized sweater that Taekwoon knew for a fact he’d stolen off his own pile and that reached half-way down his thighs, which were clad in some loose sweatpants that still somehow managed to show off his magnificent physique. He looked absolutely huggable, and Taekwoon couldn’t wait to eventually do just that later tonight. 

But first, dinner.

Despite planning to just have the pasta curled up on the couch, Taekwoon still took care to arrange the food prettily on their plates, decorating them with love. With practiced ease, he managed to hold two sets of utensils and two wine glasses, tuck a bottle of wine under his arm, and still carry the two plates out to the living room where Hakyeon was waiting.

“You could have told me to come help you…!” Hakyeon chastised lightly, getting up to help Taekwoon with carrying everything, but Taekwoon gave him an appeasing smile.

“It’s alright, I got it.”

Hakyeon looked doubtful, but sat down and let Taekwoon pass him his plate, utensils and glass.

“There you go; little parmesan, extra fried tomatoes, a spot of pesto on the side and none of the crispy mushrooms.”

Hakyeon beamed up at Taekwoon. 

“I love that you know me so well.”

“One would expect that after ten years I would at least know how you like your pasta, honey…” Taekwoon chuckled, interrupted only when Hakyeon leaned over and pecked his lips.

“I still love it that you do.”

Taekwoon smiled warmly.

“Enjoy your meal, love.”

“Thank you. You, too.” Hakyeon smiled back easily, for the first time since Taekwoon had come home looking truly relaxed as he served them the wine.

With a deep look that conveyed all of their gratitude and affection, longing and trust, they clinked their glasses together and started their meal. As expected, it was delicious, and Hakyeon felt as if he’d died and gone to heaven. He really, really missed Taekwoon’s home-cooked food. Nothing else could ever compare to a meal prepared by Taekwoon; and while Taekwoon insisted it was all in the seasoning, Hakyeon was convinced that the secret ingredient that made all of Taekwoon’s creations stick out from the rest of the food in the world was love. Taekwoon had long since stopped arguing that with Hakyeon.

Despite the food being delicious, Hakyeon couldn’t focus on it for too long, though, always keeping an eye out for the cats. He was about to get up again when Taekwoon placed a hand on his knee, stilling his movements.

“They’re fine, Yeon. Just eat.”

“But… The curtains!” 

“They’re just playing with the edges, they will be fine; both the cats and the curtains. Eat, before it gets cold.”

Hakyeon sighed, turning back to his food. He nearly jumped up again when a small thump sounded through the room minutes later. 

“Yeon, he’s fine, he’s a cat, he can handle a jump off an armchair.”

“But-… He’s so small, still!”

“Yes, he is. But he can already handle it. See, he’s already playing again.”

“Oh… Wait, is that-”

And he was already half-way up again; he would have gotten up if Taekwoon hadn’t been holding on to his sleeve.

“Leave it. It’s already ripped off, anyway. I’ll fix it back to the string later. They can play with it for now.”

“But- What if some strings come off and they swallow them?” Hakyeon eyed the ripped-off tassel warily. 

“They won’t. They are cats, they don’t swallow everything they play with. That tassel has no taste and they aren’t hungry. If strings come off they’ll spit them out. They aren’t puppies.”

Hakyeon sat back down heavily. “This is stressful…” 

Taekwoon couldn’t help a small chuckle. “Good thing we don’t have kids yet. You’d have a heart attack in less than five minutes.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad! I’m just-”

“Just worried, I know. But now stop worrying and eat before your food gets cold, Yeonie. The cats are doing fine.”

With a heavy sigh, Hakyeon forced himself to ignore the cats and focus on his food. Despite that apparent conflict, he quickly managed to relax; all due to Taekwoon’s calming presence. With Taekwoon exuding nothing but tranquility, contently enjoying his pasta while a small, pleased smile played around his lips, Hakyeon couldn’t hold on to tension and worry. 

As he relaxed, he felt himself transported to a time in the distant past, though it could as well have been yesterday.

“This reminds me of way back, when we weren’t even dating… sitting here in sweatpants and hoodies, on the couch, food in our laps, and you just… making me calm down with your mere presence.” Hakyeon mused after a while, and Taekwoon nodded slowly in acknowledgement as he chewed.

“Only this couch is much more comfortable than the one in our dorm was, and we are only wearing one hoodie and sweatpants each, because the heating actually works.” He agreed once he’d swallowed his bite. Hakyeon chuckled.

“And these aren’t instant noodles but an actually delicious, carefully prepared and arranged dish worthy of a five star restaurant.”

The compliment still managed to make at least Taekwoon’s ears blush, but contrary to what would have happened all those years ago, he accepted it.

“And you can tell that I’m actually calm and relaxed and not oblivious or don’t care.” He didn’t address the compliment, however, instead pointing out another difference between then and now.

Hakyeon frowned.

“It didn’t take me very long to understand that you were actually just quiet and reserved, not indifferent to everything around you. I saw through you very quickly.” He protested quietly.

“You didn’t see through me, you stripped my carefully built defenses down as if they were no more than cobwebs. And you were so gentle about it I didn’t even notice until it was way too late; worst of all, I couldn’t even be mad at you for it.”

“I couldn’t help it, I wanted to get close to you from the very start. Have you ever loathed that I managed to get past your defenses so quickly, though?” Hakyeon worried, but Taekwoon shook his head.

“No, not really. There were a few times I wished you hadn’t, but it never lasted. In the end, I’ve always ended up more glad that you saw me for who I am, with all my weaknesses and flaws, than regretting it. You’ve never taken advantage of what you saw that I hid from the world, and instead filled in what I was lacking.”

Hakyeon hummed quietly, frown pinching his brow as he mulled over Taekwoon’s words.

“I’ve never seen you as flawed or lacking. Neither then, nor now, nor ever. And it was never my goal to change anything about you.”

Taekwoon smiled softly at that, finally setting aside his now empty plate.

“I know. And that is exactly why I managed to change and become better on my own; become someone I like being and have no regrets of having become. You didn’t change me and accepted me just how I was from the start, but I changed myself because I wanted to be better for you. Now, I’m someone we both like better.”

Hakyeon swallowed against the sudden surge of emotions rising to constrict his throat, shaking his head.

“I have never loved you more than now, that’s true.” He started, leaning over to take one of Taekwoon’s hands in his own and caress it gently. “But ever since I started loving you, every moment with you was one I loved you more than ever before. My love for you is always only growing. But that doesn’t mean you were ever less loveable. You’ve always been perfect to me.”

Taekwoon couldn’t find the words for a worthy response to Hakyeon, but his eyes shone with a light and love that Hakyeon had long since learned to read and that told him everything he needed to know. Still, Taekwoon tried to find the right words.

“You-” A loud crash interrupted him just as he was starting to speak, and both him and Hakyeon jumped up.

“Oh no…” 

Taekwoon merely sighed, seeing the vase they used to hold their umbrellas fallen over on the floor of the hallway by the door.

“Really, now? What are you doing out here, hm?” He went over and picked the tabby up, and the black and white one, too, as soon as he spotted her on the shoe rack. In the meantime, Hakyeon righted the vase again and picked up the fallen umbrellas.

“You should take them back to the living room. It’s your turn to watch them, I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Taekwoon wanted to protest, but Hakyeon silenced him with a quick kiss. 

“Shh. You cooked for us, it’s only right I do the clean-up.”

Taekwoon swallowed the protests of how he should make it up to Hakyeon still that he’d come back so late. It seemed as if Hakyeon had long since forgiven him, and he figured he shouldn’t bring it up again and possibly upset Hakyeon by reminding him. Besides, Hakyeon was probably tired of herding the kittens, anyway, by now. And so, he just nodded, carrying the little balls of fur back into the living room while Hakyeon took their now empty plates and glasses back to clean up.

Taekwoon’s idea of kitten-herding consisted mainly in sitting on the couch with the little purring monsters on his lap, and seeing where they would go from there. 

The tabby tumbled off his lap first, going to paw at the glittery pattern on one of the throw pillows, just to be bowled over by his sister moments later. The two rolled around on the couch for a while, until the black and white kitten bit down a little too hard on her brother’s ear, who let out a distressed meow followed by a hiss and swat of his claws at her. Immediately, the play stopped, and the tabby trudged over to Taekwoon, climbing into his lap and curling up against his stomach.

“Oh… Do you want me to defend you from your evil sister, hm? There, there, you can rest here, I won’t let her bite your ear again…” Taekwoon cooed, petting the kitten gently while distracting the other with his other hand. All too quickly, she seemed tired, too, though, and Taekwoon cautiously let her climb onto his lap, too, where she curled up next to her brother and fell asleep under Taekwoon’s gently caressing hand.

It didn’t take too long for Hakyeon to come back from the kitchen, joining Taekwoon and the kittens on the couch. 

“Now, this is just unfair. How come they are such precious little angels with you, but absolute demons with me?!” Hakyeon pouted, and Taekwoon chuckled.

“They are only angels right now because you managed to tire them out earlier.”

Hakyeon was not appeased just yet. “Still, not fair. I want cuddles, too. Instead, I get broken things and a lot of running around!”

Taekwoon huffed a small laugh before gently scooping up the little black and white one and placing her in Hakyeon’s lap. 

“There you go; kitty cuddles just for you.”

Hakyeon observed the sleeping kitten cautiously, until Taekwoon nudged him.

“Go ahead, pet her. I’ve been petting her the whole time, if you stop now she might wake up because she’s missing it. We can’t have that happen, now can we?”

Quickly, Hakyeon shook his head and gently started to pet the kitten.

“We should give them names.” He remarked after a while, and Taekwoon hummed in agreement.

“Yeah… I’ve been thinking about what we could name them this whole time…”

Hakyeon looked up, giving him a curious look.

“Oh? And what has come to mind so far?”

Taekwoon thought for a moment, as if going over the options in his mind again before saying them out loud.

“I thought about naming them after the conditions I found them in. It was overcast, rainy and windy. So, something to do with that. I was thinking… Maybe Cloud for this little boy, because of his colours… And Storm for his sister. She definitely strikes me as the instigator and the bigger whirlwind between the two, so…” 

Hakyeon smiled as the cat in his lap stretched lazily and turned to her side under his petting fingers. 

“A little whirlwind, hm? That sounds about right for this one… Storm… Stormy… Yes, that fits, definitely.” He concluded after testing the name out, then shifted his attention over to Taekwoon’s lap and the kitten sleeping there. “And a little Cloud over there… I like it. Let’s keep those names.”

Taekwoon smiled contently, running his fingers lightly over the shell of Cloud’s ear, which twitched at the touch. Not wanting to wake the kitten, he instead resumed petting his head and back, steering clear off his ears, paws and tail to not annoy him. A somewhat distressed noise from Hakyeon had him look up after a while, though.

“Taek, I…” Hakyeon started quietly, hesitantly. “I know we’ve given them names and everything, but… Of course they can’t just go back to the streets, but… You know we can’t keep them, right?” He swallowed thickly, his hand shaking as he stroked his fingers gently down Storm’s back. 

Taekwoon took a quiet, deep breath.

“Why shouldn’t we, Hakyeon?”

Hakyeon shook his head, looking up to meet Taekwoon’s gaze with his own pained one.

“We don’t… We don’t have the time to look after them properly. We… We barely have time for each other these days… Actually, we barely have time for ourselves these days, in the first place. We can’t- It wouldn’t be fair to the kittens. They need someone to look after them properly. I don’t even just mean someone who makes sure they don’t take the whole house apart, but someone to play with them, to cuddle them, to just be around them. And we… We can’t be those someones for them.”

Taekwoon didn’t respond immediately. He knew Hakyeon was right; of course he was. But he also knew he wouldn’t let go of the kittens anymore. He couldn’t, he refused. Still, he couldn’t force a miserable life on the kittens just because he didn’t want to part with them. No, he already wanted nothing but the best for the kittens, and he would make sure they got it. 

“You’re right… Like this, with the life we’re living right now, we can’t take care of them. Let’s… Let’s ask our parents for help with taking care of them until we have our lives figured out enough so we can take them back.”

Hakyeon frowned at that, though.

“That… We don’t know how long that is going to take us at all, Woon. We can’t burden our parents with that for such an indefinite period of time. In the end, they’ll become our parents’ cats rather than ours, with them growing up with them instead of us…”

“No, they won’t.” Taekwoon refuted decidedly. “We can’t let it come to that. Letting the kitties stay with either of our parents can never be more than a short temporary solution. No. We… Hakyeon, what if me finding the kittens was a sign? A sign that we need to really work to get our lives together and change them up? I mean…” He trailed off, gathering his thoughts for a second upon seeing Hakyeon’s skeptic expression. “We’ve both been working like crazy for years now. We’ve been sacrificing ourselves and each other since forever, taking on more and more work, never saying no, living more to work than we work to live. And are we happy like this? Truly happy?”

Hakyeon averted his gaze quietly, and Taekwoon continued. 

“I, for one, am not. And I don’t think you truly are, either. We’ve both been meaning to slow down for so long, always using the excuse of ‘Just this one more project, and then it’s over’. But it never is. What if… What if this is the universe telling us to finally make good on that? To finally stop taking on all that extra work that we don’t need? Our positions are both stable enough, we don’t need to break our backs anymore. We can say ‘no’.”

Hakyeon chewed on his lip pensively, not answering just yet. Taekwoon reached out eventually, taking Hakyeon’s free hand in his own and intertwining their fingers.

“Hakyeon, I miss you. I miss spending time with you, even just like this, like today. When was the last time we had that? When was the last time we had breakfast together? When was our last date, that we went out together just for the sake of it? How long has it been since either of us came home to the other still awake? Not to mention, how long since the last time we had sex?”

Hakyeon’s gaze snapped up and he held Taekwoon’s, who didn’t back off. 

“We live together, and yet, at best, we spend four or five hours together in the same place, and usually at least one of us is sleeping during that time. We sleep in the same bed, and still we’ve gone up to two weeks without talking to each other even once. We can’t go on like this.”

Hakyeon took a deep breath, averting his gaze again, but he nodded slightly.

“You are right… We can’t… But-…”

“But?” Taekwoon interrupted, his tone challenging, and Hakyeon stopped at once, thinking his next words through.

“But… I don’t know… How… What can we do?”

Taekwoon exhaled slowly.

“We need to talk to our bosses. I’m going to talk to mine tomorrow. I…” He paused for a moment, thinking carefully before speaking. “I suggest we finish our current projects, and then we both take some time off. Neither of us has even had a proper vacation in years, never mind us having time off together, at the same time. And, once that is done… We should work according to our pay grade, and that’s it. We need to prioritize ourselves. For us, for each other, and for these babies.” He petted Cloud, nodding down at him to emphasize his words. 

Cloud stirred, stretching languidly before shaking his head and sitting up, a little wobbly still as he was clearly still sleep-drunk. It didn’t last long, though, before he got up fully, stretching again, and climbed over onto Hakyeon’s lap to wake his sister. Storm, contrary to Cloud, was awake in an instant, immediately ready to play and throwing Cloud over.

“Hey!” Hakyeon exclaimed, gently shoving the brawling kittens off his lap after a stray claw dug into his leg during their play. “Play gently, you little demons!” He scolded, but the kittens paid him no mind. Instead, Storm suddenly let go of Cloud and darted off the couch and to the other side of the room; Cloud was only a single leap behind her, though.

Hakyeon was about to get up and chase after them, but refrained in the last moment, seeing the futility of that endeavor. Besides, he was in the middle of an important conversation with Taekwoon.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be that easy, Woon. There are certain expectations on us that we need to fulfill…”

Taekwoon shook his head at those words from Hakyeon, and the older trailed off.

“It’s not our fault or concern that people have certain expectations, if they go above and beyond what we are supposed to do as stipulated in our contracts. We might have been nice enough to do all kinds of things we didn’t have to until now, but… Who are we doing those things for? We aren’t paid the amount that someone doing those kinds of jobs should be paid. We are helping out our co-workers, our bosses, our companies, but where does that leave us, as individuals, and as a couple?” He shook his head again, giving Hakyeon a serious look. “Think about it, Hakyeon. What’s more important in the end, for our lives?”

Hakyeon’s jaw flexed as he thought about Taekwoon’s words.

“We just have to… We’re going to have to be the jerks going up to the big guys and just demand our rights, huh…”

Taekwoon chuckled lightly.

“Yeah…”

Hakyeon nodded slowly, then sighed.

“Ok. Ok, I’m going to talk to my boss tomorrow, too. But… Will you be fine talking to yours? I’m not saying you’re a push-over, but you have an extremely soft spot for your boss, and it wouldn’t be the first time…”

Taekwoon shook his head determinedly. 

“I don’t plan on playing fair. If I tell him I need time off and to stick to a regular schedule because I’m raising two cats now, he’ll be putty in my hands in no time. He’s weak for everything small and cute. Remember when he got his puppy?”

Hakyeon laughed quietly. Of course he remembered; Taekwoon had almost been left to take over for his boss entirely for months because said boss was too busy cooing over the cream-coloured Frenchie. Granted, it was an exceptionally cute puppy, but… Yeah. Taekwoon would win his case in point two seconds after bringing up the story about the rescue kittens.

Hakyeon’s own boss, on the other hand… He better study his contract and the relevant company rules carefully before confronting her. He had no doubt he would win in the end, but it wouldn’t be as easy as for Taekwoon, and he already dreaded it somewhat.

Something clattered suddenly, pulling both Hakyeon and Taekwoon out of their thoughts and their attention to where the cats were playing.

“We have a lot to do to make our home and lives cat-proof, don’t we…” Hakyeon sighed, already getting up, and Taekwoon followed.

“We do. No time to start like the present, though; right?”

Hakyeon bent down to pick up the figurine that had been knocked off the shelf.

“Step one: buy cases with glass-doors so they can’t knock stuff off the shelves anymore.”

Taekwoon laughed quietly.

“We should have done that ages ago. It saves so much time not having to dust everything off so often.”

Hakyeon had to agree on that, but resorted to pushing things to the back of the shelves for now, in case the cats jumped up again; that, and what didn’t have room in the back of the shelves, Hakyeon started placing on the higher ones that should be out of reach for the cats. Well, at least he tried. 

Taking the book-end Hakyeon was trying to place on the highest shelf out of his hands, Taekwoon placed it there himself. Before he could say anything, Hakyeon turned around where he was standing, just millimeters in front of Taekwoon.

“Not a single word about my height. I am way above the average height of this country!”

Taekwoon couldn’t quite hide the smirk pulling at his lips.

“I wasn’t going to say anything. My plan was merely to make this into a cliché moment in which I stand way too close behind you and you turn around to kiss me.”

Hakyeon’s eyes narrowed. “You could just have asked for a kiss without pointing out that you are taller than me like this.”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes slightly. “Well. Are you going to kiss me or not?”

“No.” Hakyeon stated firmly, poking Taekwoon’s stomach so he doubled over slightly, nullifying their height difference. 

“Mean.” Taekwoon complained, but Hakyeon merely patted his shoulder and stepped out from between Taekwoon and the shelves, busying himself with the objects in the next case.

Taekwoon quietly went to move on, too. It didn’t take long, though, until Hakyeon’s hands came around his middle from behind, pulling him back against Hakyeon’s chest.

“You know I was just joking, right? You can get all the kisses you want.”

Taekwoon turned around in Hakyeon’s arms, tilting his head questioningly. A second later, Hakyeon’s lips were on his own, stealing his breath and making his head swim; not that Taekwoon was complaining, not at all! In fact, he would have rather had Hakyeon never stop, but all too soon, Hakyeon pulled out of the kiss again.

“You’re blushing.” Hakyeon commented, and Taekwoon rose an eyebrow in surprise.

“I am?”

Hakyeon smirked, brushing the back of his fingers over Taekwoon’s cheeks.

“Yeah. My Woonie, still blushing like a teenager when I kiss him. So cute!”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes, but caught Hakyeon’s hand in his own, placing a kiss on its back before holding it back to his cheek.

“To be honest, my feelings for you haven’t changed much in their essence since back when we were merely teenagers. I’m still quite stupidly in love with you; so, I’m not too surprised I’m blushing on reflex when you kiss me like this.”

It was Hakyeon’s turn to raise an eyebrow at Taekwoon.

“’Like this’? Like what?” He asked innocently as he backed him up against the shelves behind him.

“You know exactly what I mean… Like this, against the shelves, like… Like back then, in the library, when you kissed me for the first time…”

Hakyeon stepped even closer, pressing Taekwoon against the shelves with his body and kissing him firmly.

“You mean like this?” He asked in a whisper against Taekwoon’s lips, to which Taekwoon could only hum and close the already almost non-existent space to urge Hakyeon into continuing the kiss. Hakyeon didn’t have to be urged for long, giving Taekwoon what he longed for.

A sudden angry meow and a startled yelp from Hakyeon pulled them apart again, though.

“Ouch, what the hell- Storm!” Hakyeon cursed, plucking the black and white kitten off his calf, into which she’d sunk her claws in an attempt to climb up on him.

Taekwoon let out a small, disappointed breath, but it was so quiet no one heard it, especially against the backdrop of Hakyeon lightly berating the kitten for tearing a hole in both his sweatpants and his leg underneath.

“Woon!” Hakyeon’s voice suddenly pulled Taekwoon out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“We didn’t think about- What if the kittens need to go potty? We don’t have a litter-box. Or food. Or- anything, really!”

That was something Taekwoon had thought about at the vet, but had since forgotten all about after coming home.

“The convenience store two blocks over sells cat litter and food. I’ll run over and get some, we can make do one night with an improvised litter box. And tomorrow we can go buy a real one.” He volunteered quickly, but Hakyeon shook his head, getting up from where he had been playing with the kittens.

“No, if anyone goes, it’s me. You’ll just get distracted again and bring yet another cat home!” He grouched, but Taekwoon could only laugh, eliciting a glare from Hakyeon. “Besides, you already got soaked once today; that’s enough, you don’t need a second soak.”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes at that. “You know I could argue that it’s also enough if one of us gets soaked and sick in consequence, we don’t have to both get a cold.”

“You could. But you already know I won’t listen.” Hakyeon smirked back at Taekwoon, already turning to go to the door. “Don’t worry, though: I’ll take the car. Do you think I want to lug heavy bags of cat litter back on foot?”

Taekwoon knew it was futile to argue with Hakyeon about something so inconsequential, so he decided to just let it go and focus on finding a tray or tub to use as makeshift litter-box, as well as bowls for food and water. With a quick peck he bid Hakyeon goodbye for the next fifteen to twenty minutes as he passed the front hallway, and then Hakyeon was off.

By the time he came back, Taekwoon had found everything he’d been looking for and even built the kittens a bed, which they were exploring curiously. 

Feeling the need to contribute, Hakyeon busied himself filling the tray Taekwoon had found with the litter and the bowls with food. The kittens were still well-fed from earlier, though, ignoring the food, as well as the litter-box. Hakyeon pouted, leaning against Taekwoon with a whine.

“Why do they ignore everything I do, while they love everything you do immediately?”

Taekwoon wrapped his arms around him with a placating smile, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

“Be patient, Yeonie. They’ll appreciate your efforts, too, when the time they need them comes. It’s all about the timing.”

Hakyeon didn’t stop pouting, though.

“I feel so unloved right now…” He whined, knowing exactly what that did to Taekwoon, who wrapped his arms tighter around him.

“You are loved, though. So loved…” He turned Hakyeon around in his arms and kissed him deeply, heatedly, stealing Hakyeon’s breath. That was exactly what Hakyeon had hoped for, and while they were still kissing, Hakyeon began steering Taekwoon towards their bedroom, pushing him onto the bed at once and following to cover him with his own body quickly. Taekwoon pulled him close again as soon as he was within reach, their bodies aligning like two puzzle pieces made for each other.

Hakyeon tried pushing himself up, taking his weight off Taekwoon, but Taekwoon would have none of it, his long arms wrapping around Hakyeon and holding him securely.

“You are loved, and you better believe it, Cha Hakyeon.” Taekwoon whispered once Hakyeon pulled out of the kiss, coming up for air after a while. “If I have to, I’ll spend all night showing you just how much you are loved.”

A small smirk played at the edges of Hakyeon’s mouth.

“You will? Is that a promise?”

“Absolutely.” 

Taekwoon would have elaborated, but Hakyeon dove back in, kissing him hungrily, and whatever thoughts had been on Taekwoon’s mind evaporated. All he could focus on was Hakyeon, the way his body weighed down on him, every single curve and edge, plane and bulge highlighted against his own, more pliant body. The way his unmistakable scent enveloped him, clouding and at the same time soothing Taekwoon’s senses, while Hakyeon stole all sanity from him just with the works of his tongue, lips and teeth. 

The moment Hakyeon’s hands came up to start roaming Taekwoon’s body was the moment Taekwoon’s hands started a quest of their own. Mapping every centimeter of Hakyeon’s back, shoulders, arms, and then back down again until they found the perfect, full mounds of his ass and his firm thighs. He couldn’t help but linger on Hakyeon’s perfect behind, kneading the supple flesh in ways that were forever guaranteed to elicit the most delicious gasps from Hakyeon; and Taekwoon wanted to drink plenty of those gasps straight off Hakyeon’s lips. 

Hakyeon didn’t disappoint, gasps and moans falling plentiful off his lips, his entire body shuddering against Taekwoon’s, until he couldn’t take it anymore and had to break off their kisses to bury his face in the crook of Taekwoon’s neck instead.

Taekwoon thought it was all due to his teasing and massaging, anyway; he didn’t expect Hakyeon to launch a counter-attack from his current position. But Hakyeon’s lips found their way to Taekwoon’s neck, attaching to his pulse point first, his tongue following soon after to flick against the sensitive skin. 

As soon as Taekwoon felt Hakyeon’s mouth against his neck, however, he knew what was coming for him; and he should be proven right, since just moments later his skin was sucked between a sharp set of teeth that nibbled not too gently. A breathy yell slipped past Taekwoon’s lips, his entire body tensing and arching up at the mix between pain and pleasure Hakyeon managed to instill in his body.

Hakyeon smirked against Taekwoon’s neck, letting go of the skin to lick soothingly over the reddened flesh for a moment, and then moving on, higher up and further back, to kiss a new patch of skin, lick at it, then take it between his teeth and maul it.

Taekwoon whimpered as soon as he felt Hakyeon’s lips move to a new spot, a whimper that turned into loud gasps all too soon and another yell eventually when Hakyeon bit down harder. He saw stars when he arched up from the force of the wave of pleasure, not having noticed that Hakyeon had shifted his position just slightly and was now lying down in a manner that would cause Taekwoon to press his crotch perfectly against Hakyeon’s thigh whenever his body arched off the mattress.

“H-Hakyeon…!” He stammered, his entire body seizing at the sudden stimulation.

“Hmm?” Hakyeon hummed innocently, using that moment to nibble at another patch of skin on Taekwoon’s neck, just below his ear. Of course, Taekwoon couldn’t answer his hummed question, couldn’t continue the thought he’d originally wanted to express upon calling Hakyeon’s name, as he fell further apart under Hakyeon’s ministrations.

Originally, it might have been Taekwoon’s intention to show Hakyeon just how loved he was, but… He figured he could just as well do so by letting Hakyeon take whatever he wanted, needed, from him himself. 

The first thing Hakyeon apparently needed was Taekwoon’s clothes gone, expressing that need by sitting up on Taekwoon’s thighs and pulling him up along with him, swiftly working on pushing his hoodie and shirt up and over his head. Or course, that led to Taekwoon demanding Hakyeon take off at least his hoodie, too; he was peculiar about taking his shirt off most of the time, so Taekwoon wouldn’t ask that of him. His pants, on the other hand, were another story, and soon both of their sweatpants landed in matching heaps on the floor by the bed.

Hakyeon straddled Taekwoon properly then, grinding his ass down on Taekwoon’s crotch as soon as he found his spot, effectively causing Taekwoon to lose his mind again after just having managed to gather himself in the time it had taken to take their clothes off. That was all it took for Taekwoon to melt under Hakyeon again, though.

Deciding to take his time, Hakyeon let off Taekwoon for the time being, though, instead leaning up to capture Taekwoon’s lips in a languid kiss again. Taekwoon welcomed both the kiss and the reprieve, even though he could tell from experience that it only meant a much, much longer torment that would have him near crazy before Hakyeon would finally show mercy to him.

“How do you want it tonight, Woonie?” Hakyeon mumbled his question next to Taekwoon’s ear, taking the lobe between his teeth as he waited for Taekwoon’s answer.

“I- You decide, Yeon. Whatever you want to do, let’s do it. I only want you to- want to let you know how much I love you. I want you to have me and take from me whatever you want, whatever you need…”

Hakyeon chuckled, caressing Taekwoon’s cheeks before trailing his hand further down, to his chest and lower.

“You’ve become so good at asking for what you want, Woon… I’m so proud of you…” And he kissed Taekwoon again, while his hand travelled further down until he could cup Taekwoon through his boxers, giving his engorged cock a firm squeeze. Taekwoon groaned in response, unable to decide if he wanted to back out of the tormenting touch or rut into it; not that backing out would have done him any good, anyway, since there was no way Hakyeon would let go of him now. And so, he canted his hips up, into Hakyeon’s touch, instead, allowing himself to get lost in the feeling.

“I want to ride you, Taekwoonie… Let me ride you, please?” Hakyeon asked eventually, and Taekwoon nodded his head in a daze.

“Yes… Of course, Yeon. Of course, please, whatever-… whatever you want!”

Hakyeon smiled into the next kiss, feeling so, so blessed for having Taekwoon in his life, and under him in that moment. 

His smile froze seconds later, though, when something suddenly landed on his back. Slowly, he broke the kiss, pulling back to assess what it was that had landed on him, just to get a very good clue when something else suddenly crawled between him and Taekwoon.

“I- I can’t fucking believe-” He started, looking down at Cloud, who was happily toddling over Taekwoon’s bare chest.

Laughter rang out in the bedroom then, as Taekwoon gently nudged the kitten off his chest and onto the mattress.

“For real, now…?” Hakyeon grouched, the ‘thing’ that had landed on his back since having been identified as Storm. Sitting up on Taekwoon’s lap, Hakyeon glared down at the two cats.

“Sorry, Yeon. Should we lock them out of the room for the night? Or, at least until…”

Hakyeon shook his head with a sigh, though.

“No, no; leave it. They’re- The mood’s ruined now, anyway.” He grumbled, climbing off Taekwoon and lying down next to him instead.

“Sorry, love…” Taekwoon apologized again, but Hakyeon gave him a look that told him not to apologize any more, since he was not to blame in his eyes.

Still grumbling to himself, Hakyeon reached down to pull the blanket up and over them, including the cats. 

“You little shits better calm down and at least sleep soon…” He playfully shoved at the cats that were now rolling around between him and Taekwoon. He didn’t even have the time to retract his hand after the shove before he had Cloud wrapping his paws around his wrist, holding his hand in place to bite at the heel of his thumb. Not with any force, though, and he soon decided it was a much too big prey, anyway, letting go. Instead, the little kitten decided to butt his head against the hand, rubbing his face against Hakyeon’s palm.

“Congratulations, Yeon. You are officially his human now.” Taekwoon smiled from his side of the bed, eyes twinkling with both amusement and love. Hakyeon sighed.

“It seems like it, huh… I’ve already lost my house, my bed and my husband to him… Might as well give him my heart as well…” He emphasized his words with an infinitely tender stroke of his fingers over the kitten’s small head, in response to which the cat yawned and snuggled closer to Hakyeon, closing his eyes as soon as he found a comfortable position.

Taekwoon hummed, wrestling lazily with Storm until she decided that sleeping was a good idea for her, too. “As soon as I have any time at all, I’m going to make the spare room into a cat-room, where they can stay in on their own when we need some time for ourselves!” He vowed, dead serious.

Hakyeon wanted to laugh, tease, poke a little fun at Taekwoon, but honestly? He got it. And he couldn’t wait for Taekwoon to make good on that promise, in the future, so that he could have both: cute little kittens, and an active sex life. And not at the same time!

For now, all they could do was give in and rest, though. But hopefully soon, they would have enough time for both the cats and themselves, as well as each other. And when that time came, Hakyeon knew he would be grateful for the little bundles of fur that were about to change their entire lives for the better.


End file.
